Can intensive speech therapy rewire speech in children with rare genetic conditions?
NCT ID NCT07815249
First seen Sep 11, 2026 · Last updated Sep 11, 2026
Summary
Researchers are testing whether four weeks of intensive motor speech therapy can improve speech accuracy in children who have childhood apraxia of speech along with a rare genetic condition. The study enrolls up to 20 children aged 3 to 16. Each child receives 12 sessions of either Rapid Syllable Transition Treatment or Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing, assigned based on age and speech ability, and completes speech assessments before, during, and after therapy. The study tracks each child individually and does not compare the two therapies against each other.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- motor speech therapy, either Rapid Syllable Transition Treatment (ReST) or Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could give families and speech therapists clearer evidence for using intensive motor speech therapy in children with rare genetic conditions and apraxia of speech.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small study of 20 children that looks at each child individually rather than comparing groups, so results may not apply broadly. Children may improve for reasons unrelated to therapy, and gains may not carry over to everyday speech.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2026
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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3 to 16 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Children aged between 3 and 16 years, with a confirmed genetic condition and a diagnosis of childhood apraxia of speech; English as the primary language at home; able to participate in speech therapy 3 times per week for 4 weeks Exclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of an acquired brain or movement condition likely to affect speech; currently receiving motor speech therapy in the community; diagnosis of a behavioural condition likely to impact engagement (i.e., unable to participate for 45 minutes, unable to focus attention at the speech therapist's face for a few minutes at a time, unable to say any sounds and/or use gesture, unable to try to copy speech therapist; intolerant to touch (if touch cues are needed for DTTC)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Murdoch Children's Research Institute
RECRUITINGMelbourne, Victoria, 3052, Australia
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- New speech therapy shows promise for kids with apraxia
- Mind-Controlled tech could help kids with severe disabilities at home
- New therapy aims to help kids with speech disorder speak in phrases
- Parent training boosts speech therapy for kids with apraxia
- New speech therapy shows promise for kids with apraxia